Method of manufacturing printing and coating rollers



15, 1950 J. G. STRECKFUS ETAL 2,518,834

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PRINTING AND COATING ROLLERS Filed Jan. 15, 1948 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOHN G. STRECKFUS HARRY GODW/N ATTORNEY 15, 1950 J. G. sTREcKFus EI'AL 2,518,834

METHOD 0 PRINTING F MANUFACTURING AND COATING ROLLERS Filed Jan. 13, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 .FIG. /0.

IN V EN TOR.

JOHN G. STRECKFUS HARRY GODWI/V A TTWNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1950 METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PRINTING AND COATING ROLLERS John G. Streckfus and'Harry Godwin,

Baltimore, Md.

Application January 13, 1948, Serial No. 2,046

This invention relates to printing and coating equipment and more particularly. to the rolls employed to apply and distribute ink, paint, varnish, oils and other liquids to designated surfaces of printing type, stone or zinc plates which are used for. covering. or printing on paper, cloth, plastic and other materials.

' A conventional method of providing the outer coating of an inking roll to the cylindrical roller base or core, is done by placing the roller in a mold into which the coating material in liquid form,.is poured into the mold and allowed to harden and season. This is cumbersome because the heavy roller has to be handled during the process and usually cannot be accurately centered in the mold; This centering is seldom accomplished satisfactorily. In fact, in certain instances the rollers with the coating on," are usually placed in a lathe or its equivalent and ground down to thickness and roundness required in the finished roller. The complete roller is usually made up of an iron cylindrical core on which a relatively soft material is positioned to form a peripheral cushion. This is made ready to take the outer inking jacket that applies the ink or other liquid to the printing or coating medium used in the particular, printing or coating machine. The glue and glycerine coatings or laminations of. conventional form are not ground. The plastic rollers are laminated from to 2" over-finished diameter, to allow for sag duringcure,'vu1canizing or finishing.v In some instances for off-set printing an'outer coating is applied .by a centrifugal process to a removable fabric blanket in a cylinder and after'setting, is made ready for use, but in-this form. the purpose is diiierent and not in conformity with roller practice involved in the art herein discussed: The great disadvantage of the present forms of inking rolls and the method of their preparation is that the combined roll and outer covering must be handled bodily andshipped back to and from the factory every time the outer inking covering is to be replacedor refinished. During the time of application of the outer covering and the time of seasoning thereafter, the complete roller has to be. laid up. and inactive. The printing machines from which they were removed in the meantime, have to be supplied with other rollers to act as substitutes and trust that the latter will hold up long enough for the originals to be returned and replaced,

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved means for providing peripheral coating for coating and I 2Claims., (Cl. 154-41) printing rollers for use on coating and printing machines that will avoid one or more of thedisadvantages and limitations of the prior art.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved sleeve for use on coating and printing rolls that may be made uniformly, easily applied and effectively do the work intended for it. A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved sleeve for application to a roller that can be made and seasoned independ- I ently of the roller base and core, and applied readily thereto at any time, in a simple and effective manner.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method for making an independent sleeve in an expeditious and economical manner that will produce a prodnot that may be separately packed, shipped and transported conveniently without damage, to the place of use and slipped on a roller readily and properly without specially skilled attention.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide anew and improved method of constructing an inking and coating roller, that will enable the outer sleeve to be installed as a separate element of the roller, without the use of special equipment and in any location, and which will combine with the roller 'just as effectively as if it was integrally made with it.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method including thecen'trifugal preparation of a hollow inking and coating sleeve to be slipped on a temporary tube for curing, ready for placement on a roller. Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully set forth.

For a better understanding of the invention and its principles, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein a particular form of the invention is shown, while the-details and operation are outlined in the following description. The scope of the invention is particularly pointed out in the claims.

I In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the sleeve molding and spinning machine emboding this invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1; I

Figure 3 is an end view looking in the direction of arrows 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of. F gure l;

Figure 5 is an end view of the feeding end looking along line 5-5 of Figure 6;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 66 of Figure 1;

Figure '7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 'i! of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is a view looking in the direction of arrows 33 of Figure 2, showing the molded sleeve detached from the upper portion of mold and sagging. The removing tray being inserted in position above it;

Figure 9 shows a View similar to that shown in Figure 8, turned 180 degrees with the removing tray positioned in the bottom of the mold under the sleeve ready for the removal of the sleeve;

Figure 10 shows the sleeve removed from the spinning machine and applied on a hollow shipping tube;

Figure 11 is a view of the sleeve bent back at the end with fastening bands holding the sleeve to the hollow shipping tube;

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 11, with the bands moved to the top of folded sleeve;

Figure 13 is a side view showing a manner of suspending the tube and sleeve for seasoning;

Figure 14 is a side elevation showing the sleeve being lowered on a printing roll, and

Figure 15 is a sectional view taken on line l5-l5 of Figure 14 showing the sleeve ready for positioning on the roll it is to be applied to which has the bleeder cords positioned thereon.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

The characteristics of this invention are emphasized in the fact that an outer cylindrical :x.

tubular sleeve or jacket is constructed and employed for slipping over a conventional printing and coating roller core of metal on which a rubber or resilient base cushion coating is peripherally mounted. The preferred method of applying this sleeve or jacket is unique in this art while at the same time being quick, easy and effective. The sleeve is made centrifugally as a separate article or item with the idea of its being applied by this novel method on the roller core or base, not necessarily at the point of manufacture of the sleeve but after transportation, to a distant location, where the roller base is located. Conventionally, it is necessary to bring the roller to the place of manufacture of the outer coating and apply it there. This is necessary because such coating is usually applied as in integral part of the roller, and molded thereto in a special mold and requires particular skill. This is objectionable because the removal of the complete roller is relatively expensive to do this and to transport the rollers all complete, to a distance, by reason of their weight, crating and extra effort in handling. In the present invention, the sleeve is made separately and by itself in a centrifugal cylinder in such a manner as to be of uniform thickness, with a smooth round outer surface and in such form as to permit handling and placement on a cardboard tube for seasoning and. shipping. After which it is shipped on a cardboard tubing anywhere, for covering a roller, in place, of its original outer coating. The removal of the sleeve from the tubing is done by blowing air under pressure between the tubing and inner surface of the sleeve. roller, placed in a vertical position, and aligned over latter and dropped over it, the air pressure being raised inside, the sleeve so it will expand and slip over the roller easily. After placement on the rciler, entrapped air isrremoved It is then carried to the through the use of the strings placed longitudinally along the surface of the rubber coating which hold the inner portion of sleeve off the roll enough to allow the air to escape. The strings afterwards can be pulled out and the sleeve allowed to shrink back to its normal diameter to tightly encompass the roller base. After trimming off the excess end portion of the sleeve the roller is ready for use.

Another method of removing the sleeve from the cardboard shipping tube and applying it to the roller may be accomplished by rolling the sleeve off the shipping tube and unrolling it on the printing or coating roll to which it is to be applied. This will eliminate the use of strings for allowing the air to escape from between the sleeve and roller. Several other methods of transferring the sleeve from the shipping tube to the roll it is to be used with may be used and it is not intended that the methods described herein are to be a limitation as to the method of transferring the sleeve from the shipping tube to the roll, but the methods above described have been found satisfactory and their use is recommended.

In the drawings is shown a cylindrical drum in used to produce the sleeve for use on the printing or coating roll and which is composed of an outer shell 1| and an inner shell II. The ends of the outer shell H terminate in collars l3 and 24 which are counterbored to suit them. One end of the inner shell I! is positioned in the counterbored portion of the collar I4, while the other end of the inner shell projects through the collars, l5 and 24. A collar [6 having a tapered hole. which acts as a vent and a tapered plug hole is attached to the collars I4 and I8 by bolts H which clamp them together against gaskets l8 and 9 to make the unit. watertight. The filling end of the, drum I8 is provided with a collar which has a larger inner bore than the collar [5 to. accommodate a ring member 2| which is removably attached to the collar 20 by screws 22. The collars 24, I5 and 20 are held together by bolts 23 which clamp them against gaskets 18 to make the unit watertight. Studs 29 are positioned ina staggered position to support the shells Ill and 12'. The collar 24. is provided with a pulley 25, into which is placed a belt 26 driven by a motor 21. The. drum l0 rolls on bearings 28 which are positioned on a tiltable bed plate 30 and is retained thereon by a ball bearing strap 31 which stabilizes. and prevents the drum from vibrating too much and jumping off the bed plate when revolving.

The bed plate 3.0 isv pivotally connected to the base plate 36 by a. pin 32 and is retained in a. level position by a draw pin 33 which is positioned under the lower end of the bed plate 30 as shown in Figure, l, or positioned over the top of the bed p ate to hold the drum in an angular manner so the sleeve composition can be retained in the rear end of: the. inner sleevev l2 when the plug 34 is inserted in the collar [6 durin the time the drum I0; is. tilted and turned by hand to evenly distribute the fluid over the inner molding surface 35 of the shell l2 after which the motor is started and turns the drum until the sleeve is finished. The base plate 36 is supported on legs 31 and the motor 21 is positioned on a bracket 38 which is attached to the bed plate 30 and moves with it. The heating and. cooling medium passesinto the space. 39. located. between the outer shell H and the inner shell I2 by passing through a rotary pressure joint 40 and then returning through it to ase'werl The medium is fed through a long thin walled pipe 66 inside the space 39, to a point close to the opposite end. The outlet pipe ii? is short and removes the medium after it has travelled through the. whole length of the jacket, as can benoted in. Figure 6. The hot and cold fluid medium is brought to the machine in pipes 4| and 42 respectively and is controlled by valves 53 and 4-4 respectively which allow the fluid to pass to-the connector unit 45 and then pass to the feed pipe 46 and into the rotary pressure joint 46. The rotating members of the pressure joint consists, primarily of two parts, the nipple 5"! which is attached to the rotating drum it, and the thrust collar 48which slides freely endwise over the nipple 41, but is keyed to it by the key 49 so that the entire assembly rotates as a unit. The nipple 41 and the thrust collar 48 have convex, hemispherical ends (as shown in Figure 7 of the drawing) which rotate against the matching concave surfaces of two carbon graphite rings 50 and 4| positioned within the casing 53 which remains stationary and is attached to the stationary head 52 by bolts 90 fitted with a gasket 54 to make the unit leak proof. The spring 55 maintains an initial seating pressure against the rings 50 and 5|. The ring 55 acts as a pressure seal and as the pressure increases within the joint, the spherical nipple is forced against this seal ring, in this way making the joint self-adjusting. The ring 56 acts as a bearing for the thrust collar 48. The stationary head 52 is divided by the wall 58 into an inlet compartment 56 and a discharge compartment 51. The inlet compartment 56 is provided with outlets 59 through which the fluid passes through the chamber 60 and inlets 6| into the outlet chamber 62 of the revolving head 53 (which is similar in construction to the stationary head 52) thence through the outlet fitting {5 5 which is coupled to the piping 66 feeding the heating and cooling space 39 by resilient connectors which prevent misalignment and vibration of the revolving drum l0 and the stationary casing 53 and prevent irreparable damage to the sleeve being formed centrifugally within the inner shell 12. The fluid on leaving the space 39 passes through piping 61 resilient connector 68, outlet fitting 69 into'the drain compartment i6 and out through the center chamber ll into the discharge compartment 51 and out through piping 12 to the sewer or other place of deposit. The chamber H is screw threaded into the wall 58 of the stationary head 52 at one end and is rotatably positioned in the Wall 13 of the revolving head 63 so the chamber H may remain stationary and thehead 63 to spin. The gaskets l3 and I9 due to their compressibility in addition to making the joints water tight also act as expansion joints to compensatefor the longitudinal lengthening and shortening of the shells H and i2 and prevent strains from twisting the molding surface 14 of the inner shell l2 whichwould have serious effects on the molded sleeve '55 and cause it to become twisted in structure and apply the ink to the printing surfaces of the type etc., in an irregular manner such as is the case with rollers produced under the present methods of centrifugal molding. The measured amount of molding material is placed in a container 16 and is fed therefrom through a tube Ti into the inner shell I2, and the container E6 is then withdrawn. The molded sleeve '55 is removed from the inner shell l2 and dropped tube 18 and held thereto by elastic bands. The tube 18 is provided with holes 19 through which a bolt is positioned and attached by a rope or string 81 toa'rod or hook 82 so the sleeve :5 may be cured and stretch tightly onto the tube 18 so it may be shipped thereon to the designation where it is to. be removed and used.

fter the sleeve has been properly cured, an

ai head 81 is inserted between the sleeve 15 and the cardboard shipping tube 18 as shown in Figure l4 and an air line 88 carries air under pressure to it which causes the sleeve to expand large enough to just release the cardboard shipping tube and allow it to slip out. The sleeve is then positionedon the prepared printing roller preferably through theuse of the air blown between the sleeve and roller to expand the sleeve enough to pass over the roller face without any trouble, after which the air pressure is shut off and the trapped air will be released by the strings 85 which are run longitudinally along the face of the roll to prevent the sleeve from binding on the roll before all of the air is released and prevents air bubbles forming under the sleeve. After the air has been released and the sleeve is deflated and fits on the roller tightly, the strings are then withdrawn, so the sleeve will fit evenly and tightly on the roller 86 and prevent soft and unsupported spots such as is usually found in the surface of the sleeves centrifugally molded directly on the printing rollers.

The operation required to produce a printing sleeve and place it on a hollow cardboard tubing where it remains during the curing period and then removing it from the tube and permanently placing it on the roller for use in a printing press or coating machine consists of several steps set out below. The operation starts with the openingof the hot water or steam valve 43 or the cold water valve 44 which will allow the heating or cooling medium to pass through the feed pipe 46 into the stationary head 52 and through the chamber 60 to the revolving head 63 thence through the outlet compartment 62 to the fitting, 64 and resilient connectors 65 and piping 66 into the space 39 where it heats or cools the inner shell [2 as desired. The fluid circulates through the space 39 and out through the piping 6'5, resilient connectors 68, outlet fitting 59, thence through the drain compartment 10, center chamber 1|, through the discharge compartment 57 then out the piping 12 and off to the sewer. This operation heats or cools the molding sleeve 12 while itis spinning. The composition used forforrning the sleeve is not important, any of the conventional compositions may be used, such as a composition of glue and glycerine, or one of the thermo plastics such as polyvinyl chloride which is set by heat. This plastic has been found very satisfactory for the conditions under which it is used. It is flexible, ink and paint resistant, and will stand wear and temperature increases arising in its use. If the polyvinyl chloride is used, the inner shell is cooled by cold water. The tube 11 of the container 16 is inserted through the ring member 2|, and the plug 34 is inserted in the collar l6 when needed. The pin 33 is withdrawn from the base plate 36, and the bed plate 30 is tilted downwardly and the pin 33 reinserted in the hole over the bed plate 30. This retains the drum ID in a tilted position when desired. The polyvinyl chloride composition when used of a predetermined amount, is then poured into thecontainer l6 circumferentially andlooselyover a cardboard 7s and passes through the tube 11 into the inner shell l2. The drum I8 is then turned slowly by hand, after the cylinder is returned to a hori zontal position until the fluid covers the molding surface 14. The motor 21 is then, turned on, and rotates the drum rapidly. This evenly distributes the material and forms the sleeve with walls of even thickness throughout its length. The hot water or steam is then turned into the drum Hi to set the sleeve 15 in the cylinder [2. When the sleeve has attained its proper hardness, the operator grasps the sleeve at its upper outside edge and pulls down on it, this loosens the contact of the sleeve from the molding surface H of the inner shell l2, when molding sleeves from hydroscopic material, it is removed from the cylinder with gloved hands, and it folds downwardly as shown in Figure 8, the cardboard chute 81 is positioned above the collapsed sleeve 15, and the drum i0 is revolved 180 degrees so the chute is positioned on the bottom of the cylinder with the collapsed sleeve I on top of it. The sleeve 15 is removed from the drum while positioned on the chute Without being touched by hands. The sleeve is then placed on a cardboard tube 18 and a rubber band 83 is positioned thereon as shown in Figure 10. The end of the sleeve 15 is turned down and back, and a second rubber band 84 is placed thereon as shown in Figure 11. The first rubber band 83 is taken from its position shown in Figure 11 and moved to the outside end of the sleeve 15 as shown in Figure 12. The bolt 80 is then positioned through the hole 19 in the cardboard tube 18 which is then hung up by placing the string 8| which is attached to the bolt 80 on the hook 82. During this period of curing the sleeve 15 stretches longitudinally, and shrinks circumferentially and contracts around the tube 18. The end of the sleeve is trimmed to suit the length of the cardboard tube 18 and remains thereon until it is needed for final placement on a printing roller, or it may be shipped on the lightweight tube which assists the sleeve in retaining its shape and form during the shipment, as well as reducing its shipping weight below that of the printing roller and sleeve combined. The roll which has preferably been provided with air venting means, preferably strings 85, running longitudinally along the roll surface receives a coating of a solution to suit the material the sleeve is made from, for instance-a tacky rubber base roller requires a coating of butyl carbitol; a dry rubber base requires a base of 50/50 solution of butyl carbitol and acetic acid for glue and glycerine sleeves. A rubber or polyvinyl base and a polyvinyl sleeve use an air setting solution of polyvinyl which s applied to the base and allowed to dry when a coating of acetone and butyl carbitol is applied. The solution allows the sleeve to right itself without twists and in addition creates a bond and is absorbed by both the roller base and the sleeve. The roller 86 is positioned in an upright position ready to receive the sleeve. The air head 83 is then inserted between the sleeve and the cardboard tubing 18 and the air from the air line 84 is turned on. This allows a thin sheet of air to pass between the inner face of the sleeve and the outer face of the tube and the hands are placed on the cured sleeve near the bottom and it is held to the tube to prevent the escape of air. This causes the sleeve to slightly increase in diameter enough to allow the shipping tube to drop out of the tube. The air is then turned off and the edge of the sleeve is dropped down on the printing roll and turned up at its edge as shown in Figure 14 and the air pressure is turned on to expand the sleeve enough so it will pass down over the strings placed on the roller until the sleeve is completely on the roller. The air is then turned off and the sleeve shrinks and fits neatly on the roller except at the places where the strings are positioned. At these places the sleeve is held off the roller just enough to allow the air to escape from between the roller and the sleeve so all bubbles will be eliminated. When large strings are used for the larger rolls they are withdrawn by pulling them out at the ends. In small rollers where the thread is small in diameter, it is left on the roll, because it is too small to efiect the outer surface of the sleeved roller. In the first part of the operation for small rolls the table is tilted, so the sleeve materials may be distributed evenly by hand then the motor is started and the mold continues spinning until the sleeve is completed. In the larger rolls it has been found that the tilting operation may be eliminated and the sleeve material is poured into the mold while the machine is spinning.

This method of centrifugally spinning and blowing the sleeve is very effective and expeditious and considerably easier than conventional methods of molding the sleeves and inking rollers together as now used and in addition allows the sleeve to be made at one location and positioned on the roller at another location.

The term roller is intended to include all rollers that are used for distributing ink, paint, varnish, lacquer, metal coating and other liquids to all surfaces. When the drum is used, it is sometimes desirable to tilt it backwards to allow flow of the sleeve material along the face of the mold, and while doing so, rotate the drum slowly to space it around, and make it ready for the motor to revolve the drum at higher speed. The removal of the sleeve from the mold is accomplished by removing the ring member 2|, and then drawing the sleeve 15 out by hand. The sleeve 15 is then bound with rubber bands 83 and 84 to hold it on the tube, and hung up to season. The material of the sleeve is soft and will lengthen some and. in doing so will decrease in diameter and bind on the tube. The tube will prevent it becoming stretched too far in length or made too small in diameter, while at the same time enabling the sleeve to be handled safely and conveniently.

It should be particularly noted that this invention has made possible the use of a separable and free sleeve for use on inking and coating rollers. The sleeve is made independently of the roller and stocked in quantity ready to be placed operably on any roller of the proper size, The sleeves are shippable by themselves to any location where the rollers may be located and mounted thereon, without any further building up other than that required to slip it into place on the roller. By this invention the sleeve is made of the proper thickness, evenness and consistency ready for placement on a roller and use immediately thereafter. The practice is new for ink printing and coating rollers and was first inaugurated by the applicant, and found practical, economical, effective and less troublesome than any other previous arrangement employed in the construction and structure of such rollers.

While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings and described in the specifications, it is not desired to limit this application for patent to this particular form, as

it is appreciated that other forms of construction could be made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. The method of applying a sleeve to a coating and inking roller, consisting in securing a series of strings longitudinally of the roller, expanding the sleeve to become larger than the diameter of said roller and sliding it over same, and then releasing the expanding means to enable the sleeve to contract and tighten 'on said roller, coating the roller with a lubricant during the positioning of the sleeve there-on, admitting air between the sleeve and the roller and removing the strings to prevent air bubbles from forming between the sleeve and the roller.

2. The method of applying a sleeve to a coating and inking roller, consisting in securing a series of strings longitudinally of the roller, expanding the sleeve to become larger than the diameter of said roller and sliding it over same, then releasing the expanding means to enable the sleeve to contract and tighten on said roller, coating the roller with a lubricant during the positioning of the sleeve thereon, admitting air between the sleeve and the roller, removing the strings after the sleeve has set on the roller to prevent air bubbles from forming between the sleeve and roller, and trimming off the excess material of the sleeve at the ends to suit the 10 length of the roller and to provide a sleeve having finished end portions.

JOHN G. STRECKFUS. HARRY GODWIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 284,050 Nichols Aug. 28, 1883 985,164 Hadley Feb. 28, 1911 1,280,170 Crawford Oct. 1, 1918 15 1,608,206 Freedlander Nov. 23, 1926 1,668,763 Dickson May 8, 1928 1,669,053 Hamel -1 May 8, 1928 1,772,730 Powell Aug. 12, 1930 1,832,066 Von Webern Nov. 17, 193-1 20 2,090,014 Wiltse Aug. 17, 1937 2,115,543 Thackray Apr. 26, 1938 2,156,385 Freedlander May 2, 1939 2,157,440 Streckfus et a1 May 9, 1939 2,278,858 Fields Apr. 7, 1942 25 2,419,683 Henschke 1- Apr. 29, 1947 2,432,701 Van Orden Dec. 16, 1947 2,452,821 Wood Nov. 2, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS w Number Country Date Great Britain Mar. 16, 1922 

